‘Whereas’ is a bit of a formal word and if you use it correctly in formal writing, it’s impressive.

It’s used to talk about two different things and to show a contrast between them. It’s not usually used to give different opinions about one thing.

• London is exciting whereas Paris is stylish. (We’re talking about two different cities, and giving an opinion about each of them. This is correct.)

If we want to give two opinions about one thing, we can use ‘although’.

• London is exciting although it’s rainy. NOT: London is exciting whereas it’s rainy. (This is giving two different opinions about the same city, so we don’t use ‘whereas’.)

Here’s another example.

I like coffee whereas my husband likes tea.

I like coffee although I also like tea.

Let’s review! Do you need ‘whereas’ or ‘although’? Put in ‘whereas’ if possible – otherwise put in ‘although’.

She’s happy ________________________________________ she’s not rich.

William is tall ________________________________________ Lucy is quite small.

My job is fun ________________________________________ it’s long hours.

Cats are good pets ________________________________________ they are very

independent.

This book is interesting ________________________________________ that one is really

boring.

This phone is excellent ________________________________________ it doesn’t have a

great camera.

The countryside is peaceful ________________________________________ the city is more

interesting.

My maths class is hard ________________________________________ my English class is

really easy.

The party was good ________________________________________ it finished early.

Scotland is generally cool ________________________________________ Spain is

generally warm.